System and method for image recognized content creation

ABSTRACT

There is provided a system and method for image recognized content creation. There is provided a method comprising capturing an image from a camera, analyzing the image to recognize a plurality of elements, converting the plurality of elements into custom content data, and executing an interactive application using the custom content data. In one embodiment, the interactive application may comprise a racing video game, and the image may comprise a racetrack layout for use in the racing video game. Thus, a user can provide a racetrack by drawing simple lines and curves on a piece of paper, which are detected by the camera and converted into valid data assets for the video game. In this manner, even young children can leverage common drawing skills using familiar physical drawing implements for quick and simplified content creation, bypassing the need to use complex, tedious, and proprietary conventional on-screen user interfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to image analysis. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to image analysis forinteractive applications.

2. Background Art

Interactive applications may include significant support for thecreation of user-generated content. For example, video game applicationsmay provide graphics editors to customize avatar appearances, leveleditors to design custom stages, music editors to compose new music, andother content creation tools. In this manner, users can enjoy thecreative process of generating custom content. Additionally, by addingnetwork services to the interactive application, users can easilydistribute their creations to other users and participate in a largerdevelopment community. Thus, the value and shelf life of the interactiveapplication can be extended without requiring significant additionalwork on the part of the application developers.

Unfortunately, there is often a steep learning curve associated withsuch content creation tools. Moreover, interfaces for such creationtools tend to be created ad-hoc and may not be uniform across differentpublishers and developers, rendering user skills developed for onecreation tool potentially useless for another creation tool.Additionally, such interfaces often force users to create content usingpiecemeal, laborious, time intensive processes, often tailored towardsease of programming and implementation for developers rather thanusability for end users. As a result, even the most dedicated users ofthe application may be deterred from creating custom content, therebyreducing the value of the application for users.

Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficienciesin the art by providing a way to create customized content forinteractive applications in a simplified and user-friendly manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There are provided systems and methods for image recognized contentcreation, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection withat least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewingthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 presents a diagram of a system for image recognized contentcreation, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 presents a diagram of a conventional user interface for contentcreation;

FIG. 3 presents a diagram of an image for use with image recognizedcontent creation, according to one embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart describing the steps, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, by which image recognized contentcreation may be provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present application is directed to a system and method for imagerecognized content creation. The following description contains specificinformation pertaining to the implementation of the present invention.One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may beimplemented in a manner different from that specifically discussed inthe present application. Moreover, some of the specific details of theinvention are not discussed in order not to obscure the invention. Thespecific details not described in the present application are within theknowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings in thepresent application and their accompanying detailed description aredirected to merely exemplary embodiments of the invention. To maintainbrevity, other embodiments of the invention, which use the principles ofthe present invention, are not specifically described in the presentapplication and are not specifically illustrated by the presentdrawings.

FIG. 1 presents a diagram of a system for image recognized contentcreation, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Diagram100 of FIG. 1 includes computing device 110, display 120, camera 130,input device 135, and drawing 140. Interactive device 110 includesprocessor 111 and memory 112. Memory 112 includes interactiveapplication 115.

Computing device 110 may comprise, for example, a desktop or notebookcomputer, a video game console, a handheld game system, a mobile phone,or another computing device capable of interfacing with display 120,camera 130, and input device 135. Processor 111 of computing device 110may then execute, in memory 112, interactive application 115, which mayas a non-limiting example comprise a video game application such as aracing game. Camera 130 may then capture an image of drawing 140,provided by the user of computing device 110, for use in interactiveapplication 115. For example, drawing 140 may comprise a piece of paperwith a hand-drawn racetrack for use as a custom racetrack in interactiveapplication 115. Drawing 140 may be created using any drawing toolsavailable to the user, including but not limited to pens, pencils,crayons, paintbrushes and other tools. After interactive application 115analyzes and converts drawing 140 into a corresponding custom tracklayout, which may be stored in memory 112, then the user may use inputdevice 135 and display 120 to adjust the custom track layout or to playa race using the custom track layout.

Moving to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 presents a diagram of a conventional userinterface for content creation. Display 220 includes toolbar 221 andlayout window 225. Layout window 225 includes elements 222 a, 222 b, and222 c. Display 220 of FIG. 2 may correspond to display 120 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, a conventional user interface may require the userto select elements piece by piece from toolbar 221 to generate a customracetrack. As shown in layout window 225, element 222 a representing astarting line, element 222 b representing a straight track segment, andelement 222 c representing a curved track segment are already in place.However, to complete the custom racetrack, the user will have tocontinue selecting many more elements from toolbar 221, manually placingthem in the proper location within layout window 225. Since display 220has limited screen real estate, the user may also be required to panwithin layout window 225 and scroll through toolbar 221 using the shownnavigation arrows, further slowing down the creation process. Thismethod of creating custom racetracks may be straightforward fordevelopers to implement, but the time and effort required from users maydeter even the most dedicated user from creating custom racetracks.Since conventional creation tools are often difficult or inconvenient touse, it is often difficult to develop and maintain a strong developmentcommunity for user-generated content, which is a strong asset andselling point for many interactive applications such as video games.

Moving to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 presents a diagram of an image for use withimage recognized content creation, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Diagram 300 of FIG. 3 includes drawing 340. Drawing340 includes element 322 and circuit 345. Drawing 340 may correspond todrawing 140 from FIG. 1. Element 322 may correspond to element 222 afrom FIG. 2.

As previously discussed, the user may provide a pen or pencil drawing ona piece of paper, which may include the contents of drawing 340. In thismanner, users can rely on common shape drawing skills using familiarphysical drawing implements rather than being forced to use complex,proprietary, application specific customization tools in an abstract,non-tangible manner. As shown by drawing 340 in FIG. 3, the user maydraw a racetrack using simple lines and curves to form a closed circuittrack, or circuit 345. Element 322 may be added by the user to indicatethe start and finish line. Thus, the user is only required to provide aquick sketch of a loop, a figure eight, or any other combination oflines and curves, allowing even young children to create their owncustom racetracks in a matter of minutes.

Besides drawings on paper, any reference that may be captured withcamera 130 of FIG. 1 may be utilized. Thus, other embodiments of drawing340 may for example include a racetrack layout printed in a magazine orshown on a computer display, a mobile device screen, or a televisiondisplay. In this manner, existing references may also be utilized suchas famous racetracks reproduced in racing websites or magazines.

Once drawing 340, corresponding to drawing 140 in FIG. 1, is captured bycamera 130 of computing device 110, interactive application 115executing on processor 111 may perform image analysis to convert the rawimage data into a valid application data asset. For example, the pixelsof the raw image data comprising circuit 345 may be converted into aspline comprising a linked list of line segments and Bezier curves.Alternatively, circuit 345 may be divided into segment areas that arematched to the closest valid track segment available. To compensate forimperfect drawings, lines may be forced straight and curves may besmoothed to mitigate the effects of unsteady hands or to adjust todrawing skill level. The user may optionally adjust the parameters ofanalysis according to preference, for example to bypass automatic curvecompensation.

Additionally, track properties may be indicated by various definedattributes of drawing 340. For example, line drawing thickness forcircuit 345 may indicate the width or number of lanes for the racetrack.Line or foreground colors for circuit 345 and surrounding backgroundcolors in drawing 340 may indicate terrain materials, such as black forpavement, brown for dirt, and green for grass. Defined symbols may alsoindicate special elements or properties of the racetrack, such as the“I” shape of element 322 indicating the start and finish line. Toprovide another example, if the intersection shown in circuit 345 isactually an overpass at different heights, such a property might beindicated using a half-circle.

Furthermore, while drawing 340 is shown using a simple two-dimensionalbird's eye view, alternative embodiments may support drawings drawnthree-dimensionally. For example, drawing 340 may be drawn as aprojection such as an isometric projection or from a perspective such asa three-point perspective. Thus, more complicated racetracks withvarying heights may be supported.

Moving to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows a flowchart describing the steps,according to one embodiment of the present invention, by which imagerecognized content creation may be provided. Certain details andfeatures have been left out of flowchart 400 that are apparent to aperson of ordinary skill in the art. For example, a step may compriseone or more substeps or may involve specialized equipment or materials,as known in the art. While steps 410 through 440 indicated in flowchart400 are sufficient to describe one embodiment of the present invention,other embodiments of the invention may utilize steps different fromthose shown in flowchart 400.

Referring to step 410 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and diagram 100 of FIG.1, step 410 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of computing device110 capturing an image of drawing 140 using camera 130. As previouslydescribed, drawing 140 may comprise a simple hand drawn closed circuiton a piece of paper, similar to that shown in drawing 340 of FIG. 3.Alternatively, drawing 140 may comprise an existing reference printed ina publication such as a magazine or shown a display such as a televisionor mobile phone screen.

Referring to step 420 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and diagram 100 of FIG.1, step 420 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of computing device110 analyzing the image captured from step 410 to recognize a pluralityof elements. For example, examining drawing 340 in FIG. 3, circuit 345may be broken down into a spline comprising line segments and Beziercurves. Alternatively, circuit 345 may be broken down into segmentsmatching valid elements, for example by dividing portions of circuit 345into several smaller areas and performing a closest match against validelements listed by toolbar 221 in FIG. 2. Additionally, specific definedproperties of the plurality of elements may be detected such as linethickness and foreground and background colors, as previously described.

Referring to step 430 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and diagram 100 of FIG.1, step 430 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of computing device110 converting the plurality of elements from step 420 into customcontent data. For example, the spline or matched elements may beconverted into a data structure defining a custom racetrack, suitablefor loading into an interactive video game. The data structure may, forexample, be implemented as a linked list or an array.

Referring to step 440 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and diagram 100 of FIG.1, step 440 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of computing device110 executing interactive application 115 using the custom content datafrom step 430. Thus, for example, interactive application 115 maycomprise a racing game, where input device 135 comprises a gamepad orsteering wheel and display 120 comprises a LCD display. Interactiveapplication 115 may then allow the user to use input device 135 to racethrough the custom racetrack defined by the custom content data of step430, wherein visuals of the game are output to display 120 andresponsive to user input.

While a video game entertainment embodiment has been provided as onespecific example of an interactive application, alternative embodimentsmay provide for other fields as productivity, education, and otherswhere a facilitated method of custom content creation is desirable. Inthis manner, users can leverage common drawing skills to quickly andeasily create custom content for various interactive applications, suchas user-generated levels or tracks for video games. Advantageously,users can thus bypass the conventional requirement of learning to usecomplex, tedious, time intensive and proprietary content creationinterfaces that may be different for each specific application.

From the above description of the invention it is manifest that varioustechniques can be used for implementing the concepts of the presentinvention without departing from its scope. Moreover, while theinvention has been described with specific reference to certainembodiments, a person of ordinary skills in the art would recognize thatchanges can be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand the scope of the invention. As such, the described embodiments areto be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Itshould also be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments described herein, but is capable of manyrearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1. A computing device providing image recognized content creation, thecomputing device comprising: a processor configured to: capture an imagefrom a camera; analyze the image to recognize a plurality of elements;convert the plurality of elements into custom content data; and executean interactive application using the custom content data.
 2. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements comprisesegments of a closed circuit.
 3. The computing device of claim 1,wherein the custom content data comprises a spline.
 4. The computingdevice of claim 3, wherein the spline is defined using a linked list ofline segments and Bezier curves.
 5. The computing device of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to execute the interactiveapplication to provide a racing game using the custom content data as aracetrack.
 6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to convert the plurality of elements using smoothingcompensation to create the custom content data.
 7. The computing deviceof claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to capture the imagefrom a drawing on paper.
 8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein theplurality of elements includes defined symbols indicating properties ofthe custom content data.
 9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein theplurality of elements includes attributes indicating properties of thecustom content data.
 10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein theattributes include foreground and background colors of the plurality ofelements indicating terrain properties of the custom content data.
 11. Amethod of providing image recognized content creation, the methodcomprising: capturing an image from a camera; analyzing the image torecognize a plurality of elements; converting the plurality of elementsinto custom content data; and executing an interactive application usingthe custom content data.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein theplurality of elements comprise segments of a closed circuit.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the custom content data comprises a spline.14. The method of claim 13, wherein the spline is defined using a linkedlist of line segments and Bezier curves.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein the executing further provides a racing game as the interactiveapplication using the custom content data as a racetrack.
 16. The methodof claim 11, wherein the converting the plurality of elements furtheruses smoothing compensation to create the custom content data.
 17. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the capturing of the image is from a drawingon paper.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of elementsincludes defined symbols indicating properties of the custom contentdata.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of elementsincludes attributes indicating properties of the custom content data.20. The method of claim 19, wherein the attributes include foregroundand background colors of the plurality of elements indicating terrainproperties of the custom content data.